Coach Billy Donovan has molded this relatively
inexperienced squad into a good team. The Gators do not turn the ball over very
often, nor do they commit a lot of fouls. The emergence of the young backcourt
duo of Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton can be thanked for that. Walker, a 5-8
sophomore, has done a great job in all facets of the game. He is averaging 12.6
points per game and dishes out a team high 4.9 assists. He is also the most
prolific outside shooter on the team, a solid defender and a surprisingly
effective rebounder for a 5-8 point guard.

Boynton is prone to some freshman mistakes, but he
is the team’s leading scorer at 13.6 points per game. He is also a quality
ballhandler which is nice to have when the opposition is pressing Walker or the
sophomore needs to take a short breather.

Why They Can Disappoint:

Florida is smart when they take care of the ball,
but sometimes a bad shot is just as bad as a turnover and Boynton is not opposed
to taking bad shots. He has gotten better as the season has progressed, but he
is shooting a mere 28.5 percent from beyond the arc and takes 7.1 attempts per
game. The lack of depth in the backcourt is an issue as well. Ray Shipman, a 6-5
wing, is the only other guard on the roster and Boynton and Walker are both
playing over 32 minutes per game. While this is a team that has a couple big
guys who can handle and shoot the ball in Chandler Parsons and Dan Werner,
neither of them have the ability to defend an opposing shooting guard and spend
all their time at the forward spots.

Who To Watch:

The clutch shooting of Parsons is always fun to
watch, but the true interior players on Florida are Alex Tyus and Vernon
Macklin. Tyus has emerged as a pretty consistent interior scorer during
conference play and ranks fourth on the team with 12.0 points per game and leads
the team with 6.8 rebounds per contest. At 6-10 and 240 pounds, Macklin is the
big body under the basket. While the Gators are not a good shot blocking team,
Macklin is biggest threat to block a couple shots. And, perhaps more
importantly, Tyus and Macklin do a great job staying out of foul trouble and
that is very important so Parsons and Werner can spend a majority of their time
at the small forward position and the depth behind them is pretty much
non-existent.

Probable Starters:

Erving Walker, Sophomore, Guard, 12.6 ppg, 4.9 apg

Kenny Boynton, Freshman, Guard, 13.6 ppg, 2.7 apg

Chandler Parsons, Junior, Forward, 12.1 ppg, 6.8
rpg, 2.5 apg

Alex Tyus, Junior, Forward, 12.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.0
bpg

Vernon Macklin, Junior, Center, 10.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg

Key Roleplayers:

Ray Shipman, Sophomore, Guard, 2.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg

Dan Werner, Senior, Forward, 4.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 71.5 (110th in nation,
9th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 65.0 (88, 3)

Field-Goal Percentage: 44.3 (133, 9)

Field-Goal Defense: 42.4 (135, 6)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.7 (216, 9)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 30.7 (261, 10)

Free-Throw Percentage: 70.1 (131, 4)

Rebound Margin: 2.4 (100, 4)

Assists Per Game: 14.1 (91, 3)

Turnovers Per Game: 12.4 (65, 2)

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About Joel Welser

ColumnistCollege Preview Editor

Contactjwelser@collegehoops.net

Background

"Joel Welser does a tremendous job covering college basketball. He gives his readers knowledgeable and insightful information on college hoops." -Ernie Zeigler, Head Basketball Coach, Central Michigan University "Joel Welser writes clean, knowledgeable copy that always hits deadline." -Greg Eno, former editor-in-chief, Motor City Sports Magazine Growing up in Michigan, Joel Welser inherited a love for Big Ten sports. After defying all family traditions and not going to Michigan State, Joel headed out west to earn his bachelor degree from California State University, Northridge in Cinema Television Arts, specializing in screenwriting. For reasons still unknown, after his stint in Hollywood, Joel headed back to Michigan where he remains to this day complaining about the cold. Joel has found a successful formula with the popular top 144 series at collegehoops.net and has also written college football and college basketball previews and articles for various websites and magazines.